Gone Wrong
by katgeek
Summary: Roger tells Jessica about a nightmare he had.


A/N: This was based on me wondering what if Roger really had shot Judge Doom at the end of the film?" Given that he'd already been shot by Jessica earlier, it would not have helped much...

Jessica woke up and looked at the clock. 3:30. Much earlier than she usually woke up. Given how late the Ink and Paint Club was open, she was used to sleeping in.

She was about to fall back to sleep when she realized that Roger was not next to her. That wasn't really cause for concern, until she smelled something cooking.

Now, it wasn't like Roger was a horrible cook. While he was a bit clumsy (okay, he was very clumsy. As far as. Jessica was concerned, that was part of his charm.), he did know what he was doing to some extent when he was cooking. And him deciding to surprise her with breakfast wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

But at 3:30 in the morning? That was unusual.

She got out of bed and made her way towards the kitchen.

Roger was in there making... something. She wasn't quite sure what it was, partially because she was focused on something else.

Roger was shaking and sniffling. Every so often, he'd mumble something she couldn't quite hear.

She walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder, only for him to jump away and yelp.

He turned towards her gasping, only slightly relaxing when he saw who it was.

"Oh, it's... just you." Roger said, giving a nervous smile. "What are you doing up?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."  
Roger's eyes darted around the room before he spoke. "I was... um... I decided to surprise you with breakfast!" He finally said.

"At 3:30 in the morning?" Jessica asked.

"I have to be at the studio early today..." Roger said, in a tone that made it clear he really wasn't used to lying, especially to her.

"Didn't you say you didn't have to be back there for another week yesterday?"  
Roger froze up for a second, before sighing.

"I had a nightmare." He said. "I... I came down here after I woke up to see if, you know, maybe making something will help me calm down..."

That did explain why he was rather jumpy, although why he had been trying to hide that confused her. For one thing, Roger was pretty much an open book. She had heard Eddie mention that he knew WAY more about Roger's family than he wanted to.

The other thing was that he NEVER kept secrets from her. He usually told her absolutely everything.

"What was it about?" She asked.

Roger looked around nervously before running over and hugging her.

It was about a minute before he stopped crying enough to speak.

"It was th-that night... at the Acme Factory..."

Roger couldn't recall ever feeling this level of anger in his life. The closest he could think of was when Maroon and Eddie tried to tell him to find someone other than Jessica after he saw those pictures.

Even that seemed minor compared to how he felt right now.

He had already managed to intimidate the weasels into dropping their weapons. The four of them stood back, paws up and looking terrified.

That left Doom to deal with.

"Put that gun down you buck-toothed fool!" Doom hissed .

"That's it Doom!" Roger yelled, swinging the item in question towards him. "Give me another excuse to pump you full of lead!"

If you had told Roger that he would be telling the judge what just about every Toon thought of him a few days before, he would have thought you were making stuff up.

Now that he was in that position, however...

"Thought you could get away with it? We Toons may ACT idiotic, but we're not STUPID! We demand justice, but the real meaning of the word probably hits you like a ton of bricks!"

As if on cue, a ton of bricks fell right behind Roger. He thought he vaguely heard someone shouting something in Spanish that was probably better left untranslated.  
He wasn't really paying attention to that anyway.

You see, when the bricks fell behind him, he clenched his hands in response. The next thing he knew, he heard a loud bang and found himself flung against the bricks.

Dazed, he sat up and watched in horror as the judge stumbled around for a bit, before collapsing onto the floor, grasping his side the entire time.

Stunned, Roger stood up, letting the gun fall to the floor. This wasn't part of his plan. He'd only meant to frighten the weasels and the judge into letting everyone go. He didn't intend to actually FIRE the gun...

He turned towards Jessica and tried to run to her, only to feel someone grab his arms.

"Where do ya think YOU'RE going!" He heard the weasel that he assumed was their leader say. "Ya think you'd get away with that?"

He wasn't sure if he could answer that, but he did try.

Unfortunately, in his shock, all he could really get out was a bunch of random words that... probably didn't make sense, much less help his case.

Not that it really mattered, as not long after he tried to speak, another voice spoke.

"Well now. Looks like we can add attempted murder to your charges..." The voice said. "And of a judge, no less."

He looked up to see Doom glaring down at him, with that smile that came with finding stuff like torture fun.

At first, he thought that he had missed it. Maybe Doom had just THOUGHT he'd been shot. Then Roger noticed the hole in Doom's outfit, around the area he had been holding onto earlier.

He was confused. One of the things all Toons were quick to learn was that humans do not bounce back from most injuries as quickly. And some injuries were serious enough that they never recovered from them.

Being shot DEFINITELY qualified under the latter category.

He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard Jessica speak.

"Do you REALLY think no one is going to find out about your plan?" She yelled.

"Or that you're the one who killed Acme?" Eddie added.

Doom turned towards them, still giving that same twisted smile he had been giving Roger. " Who's going to tell them?" He asked.

He turned to Eddie and started walking towards him. "It's a shame, really. I thought you, of all people, would be with me on this."

As he walked towards Eddie, Roger realized what Doom was holding in his hand.

It was the gun Roger had dropped earlier.

"Eddie! Look..." He started to say before one of the weasels grabbed his mouth.

Eddie looked towards Roger. Doom seized the opportunity and fired.

Roger turned his head and shut his eyes, but he could do nothing to block out the horrid sound that he would prefer not to hear again for the rest of his life.

Granted, the way the night was going, that probably wasn't going to be that long.

"As I said, I didn't expect you to be much trouble, Mr. Valiant," Doom said. "But I guess you decided to wind up like your brother- killed at the hands of a Toon."

He turned to his weasels. "Get the woman!" He told them.

"Jessica! Run!" Roger yelled, before one of the two weasels that had stayed to hold him down grabbed his mouth again.

Jessica started to run towards the door, but the weasels grabbed her and pulled her towards the Dip-mobile.

Roger watched in shock, waiting for her to fight them off and escape. He had pretty much accepted the fact that the judge was going to find him off, but he couldn't stand the idea of his Jessy being killed too.

Unfortunately, any time she managed to knock one of them loose, they were quick to grab her again. Roger watched as they dragged her up the ladder to the large tub of Dip that had been attached to the vehicle.

Roger tried to turn away from the scene as they reached the top, only for the weasels still holding on to him to forcefully turn his head back.

"What's the matter? Don't wanna see your own wife?" He heard the one he assumed to be their leader say in a tone that made it clear that he knew just how much torture it was for Roger to watch the sight before them.

He watched in horror as the three weasels carrying Jessica picked her up and threw her into the vat.

He let himself slump as far as he could while still in the weasels' grasp. All he could hear was the weasels laughing over what had just occurred.

Usually, Roger considered the sound of laughter to be the greatest of all sounds. But this laughter was cruel, and knowingly so.

Roger felt the tears fall from his eyes. How had his life gone from as close to perfect as he could imagine to about as terrible as it could possibly get within a single day? What had he done to deserve this?

One of the weasels must have seen him crying. "Awww, quit sobbing. You'll be joining her soon enough." He said, in a mocking tone that made it clear he wasn't saying it out of sympathy. "Maybe."

He barely heard the sound of a police siren heading towards the factory. He would have been more excited, but after everything that happened that night, he didn't think it would help much.

Benny entered the room, followed by several police officers... and Dolores.

The weasels dropped him. He stood up, stunned, only for Judge Doom to grab his neck before he could even consider running.

The weasels dropped him. He stood up, stunned, only for Judge Doom to grab his neck before he could even consider running.

Not that he had any reason to.

"What happened here?" He heard one of the officers ask. "The cab said you kidnapped Valiant and the rabbit's wife..."

Doom shook his head. "I simply wanted to convince them to tell me where they'd hidden the rabbit. Unfortunately, just as I was explaining this, the rabbit broke into the building. He started to demand his wife come with him. When she refused, he snapped. Threw her into the Dip." He told them, swinging Roger around with every word.

"Listen, I've known Roger for four years now, " Benny said. "And there's not a single word there that sounds remotely like him!"

Doom smirked. "Do you really believe him? He just admitted to being friends with the rabbit."

"Not only that, we arrested him earlier today for reckless driving!" Roger heard one of the weasels say. "The rabbit broke him out!"

"Come to think of it, didn't the cab mention dropping Roger off here before coming to find us?" One of the officers said in response.

"I think it's clear that the cab is less than reliable," Doom said. "Given that he's admitted to being the rabbit's accomplice."

"Well, what happened to Valiant?"

Doom shook his head. "As I said, the rabbit didn't take his wife's refusal well. After he dipped her, he grabbed a gun and shot at both me and Valiant. He missed me, but, as you can see, Valiant wasn't near as lucky."

As he said this, he held Roger in a position where he couldn't help but see where Eddie lay dead, Dolores standing over him.

Roger felt the tears fall from his eyes again. Given what had happened to Jessica, he was pretty sure he knew how she felt.

Given what Doom had just said, however, he didn't think she'd believe him.

He looked at her, tears in his eyes, hoping that she didn't believe what Doom was saying.

The look she gave him when she turned towards him dashed any hope he had that she'd be willing to believe him.

"I never should have trusted you."

Roger turned away from her. He wanted to say something, but it was clear Doom had turned everyone against him.

Except for Benny, but it was clear no one was willing to believe him either.

"Now, if there are no further questions, I have an execution that has been held off long enough," Doom said, tightening his grip on Roger's neck.

Roger closed his eyes as Doom carried him up the ladder towards the Dip, hearing the cries for his death from almost everyone in the room.

He tried to think of something- anything- to keep his mind off of his impending death, eventually settling on trying to figure out how Doom survived being shot.

It wasn't exactly the most pleasing subject, but there weren't many topics that were at this point.

He tried to think back on everything that happened since he shot Doom, to see if anything would give him even the slightest hint of what had happened.

A human shouldn't have survived. At least, they wouldn't be walking around so soon afterward like Doom was.

Wait a second...

A human wouldn't have survived being shot, but what was it that Doom had said when he killed Eddie? Something about ending up like his brother?

Suddenly, it clicked.

A human wouldn't have survived, but a Toon would.

It explained quite a bit, actually.

Why the judge was so theatrical in his actions. Why he chose to lure Roger out with "Shave and a Haircut". That wind that always appeared to blow around him. Why he chose to go by "Doom".

All of it made sense now.

Not that it really helped Roger by this point.

Doom held him over the Dip, the tight grip he had around his neck slowly loosening.

"Any last words?" Doom asked.

Roger wasn't sure if he should attempt to say anything, given that last time the judge had offered him a chance to say anything, he had only let him say three words before choking him.

Besides, it wasn't like anyone was going to listen to anything he was going to say at this point.

He decided to take the chance.

"It was Doom!" He yelled. "He's the killer! He's the one you want!"

Doom chuckled. "Just like one would expect from a criminal. Trying to blame someone else for your crimes."

Roger glared at him defiantly. "I suppose you'd know."

He said as the judge released his grip on his neck and threw him into the vat of Dip...

"That's when I woke up..." Roger said, sniffling. His arms were around Jessica's neck, while he cried into her shoulder.

Jessica had turned off the stove sometime into the story. Whatever Roger had been cooking (it looked like it was an omelet) had started to burn.

She was hugging Roger back.

She understood now why he was so reluctant to tell her what was wrong. The events of that night a month ago wasn't exactly a topic anyone involved enjoyed revisiting. The only time she could remember anyone involved mentioning anything about it was during the many interviews the papers wanted afterwards.

Even then it was clear that no one was fully comfortable talking about what happened at the factory that night.

"What time was this?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure." He admitted. "I honestly didn't realize how early it was until Eddie yelled at me when I called him..."

"Wait... you actually called him?"

"I wanted to make sure he was okay!" Roger said. "Granted, he wasn't too happy with me. Said that I was only supposed to be calling him if I had a case or information that could help him on one and that rule especially applied if I was calling him at three in the morning."

"So, is that when you came down here?"

Roger nodded. "I came down here after he hung up... decided to get a head start on breakfast." He told her. "I made some muffins..." he continued, pointing to the counter.

There was a stack of muffins sitting on a plate in the center of it. Roger had somehow managed to grab one of the better plates without breaking it or the rest of the stack.

"I still wasn't relaxed yet, so I started to make something else. Then you came in and asked me what I was doing and..." He started to say before trailing off.

"And you explained your dream and what happened afterwards." She finished.

Roger nodded. "I hope I didn't wake you." He said.

Jessica shook her head. "No, I woke up on my own." She said.

Roger gave a relaxed sighed. "Good. I didn't want to wake you. I didn't want you to worry..." he said.

Jessica put her hand on his shoulder. "Worry about what, honey bunny?" She said, using one of Roger's favorite pet names.

"I figured by the time you woke up, I'd have forgotten all about that stupid dream!" He started as he left Jessica's grip. "I didn't want you to think I was obsessing over something that happened a month ago! It all worked out, it shouldn't bother me like this!"

Jessica looked at him with surprise. "This isn't the first nightmare you've had, is it?"

Roger sadly shook his head.

"Why haven't you brought this up before?"

Roger sighed. "Like I said, I didn't want you to worry. It happened a month ago, it shouldn't be bothering me this much! I mean, it's not like you've had any nightmares about that night!"

Jessica gave him a sad look. "That's not entirely true..." she said.

Roger looked up at her. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean I've had some horrible dreams about that night. Several of them."

"Just how horrible are we talking?" Roger asked.

"They all have Doom managing to..." She paused for a moment to find the right words to finish her sentence. "Catch you."

Roger knew exactly what she meant by that.

"What happens next isn't always the same. Sometimes I have to listen to everyone mock me. Saying it's my fault that Acme and you were gone, and that I had no right to be upset about your death. Or Doom finds some reason to have me executed shortly afterwards. Or..." She was cut off by Roger hugging her tightly.

He looked up at her in shock. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" He asked.

She sighed. "The same reason you didn't tell me about your nightmares." She said.

The couple sat there in silence for a few moments, hugging each other.

It was Roger who first spoke. "I guess that whole mess bothers both of us more than it should." He said."But I'm not sure how to fix it."

"I'm not really sure if we can," Jessica admitted.

Roger thought for a moment. "Maybe we shouldn't hide how much it bothers us. At least, not from each other."

Jessica nodded. "From now on, we don't." She said.

"Great!" Roger responded. "So, you ready to head back to bed? I mean, it is still pretty early..."

Jessica shook her head. "Not really." She admitted.

Roger looked around for a bit. "Well, those muffins I made are probably starting to get cold..." He offered.

Jessica thought for a moment before nodding. "That doesn't sound that bad." She said.

The two of them walked to the table to eat their very early breakfast together.

A/N:Yeah, I'm not really sure I like how Roger and Jessica's conversation ended the fic.


End file.
